Silence in the classroom can boost children’s exam results, improve their
self-esteem and cut down on bad behaviour, according to new research.

Encouraging pupils to keep noise to a minimum has substantial benefits and should become a valuable component of all children’s education, it is claimed.

Dr Helen Lees, from Stirling University’s school of education, said that “enforced silence” was seen as a punishment and often acted to suppress children’s natural ability.

But she said that teaching children about the benefits of “strong silence” – deliberate stillness that gives them the opportunity to focus and reflect in a stress-free environment – can have a significant effect on pupils’ concentration and behaviour.

The conclusions are made in a new book – Silence in Schools – to be published next year.

It is the latest in a string of research to establish a link between the classroom environment and pupils’ academic ability.

A study almost a decade ago by South Bank University and the Institute of Education in London found that children’s exam results were cut by as much as a third if they taught in noisy classrooms.

Teaching unions have also called for limits of 26C to be put on classroom temperatures amid claims that staff and pupils struggle to work in hot conditions and some educationalists claim that too much clutter on classroom walls can lead to children becoming distracted.

Dr Lees said: “There is no educational reason why silent practices in some way should not be an integral part of a child’s education.

“In fact, when we take various strands of research on school settings and put them together, what we see is that education without silence does not make much sense.

“In areas of better learning outcomes, better interpersonal relationships, better self-esteem and wellbeing measures, silence in a person’s life and an individual’s education is shown throughout the relevant research literature to be a benefit.”

Dozens of schools across Britain already introduce periods of meditation and “reflective silence” into the timetable.

Kevin Hogston, head of Sheringdale Primary, south London, has just introduced a minute’s silence at the start of twice-weekly assemblies in which children are taught breathing techniques and encouraged to reflect. The school plans to roll it out into classrooms every day.

It follows a successful trial at his former school, Latchmere Primary in Kingston-upon-Thames, which also set up a “blue room” where children can spend an hour a week learning meditation and relaxation techniques.

Mr Hogston said: “The background was that at my old school children were having immense trouble going to sleep at night because of things like a lack of exercise, poor diet and exposure to TVs and video games so they came to school tired and unable to work. Teaching them relaxation techniques and some basic meditation had a great effect on them; attendance went up, results went up and they were fresher and more alert at school.”

Dr Lees is due to outline her research at a conference – Just This Day – at London’s St Martin-in-the-Fields church on November 23.